History 143 Assignment Guide, February 10-12, 2009

Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Discovering, 102-131; McSeveney, America’s History, 166-171

Background information: After reading this assignment, you should know the following:

1. The definition of imperialism.

2. In the 1890s, why American public opinion changed from opposing imperialism to supporting it. (Be sure to note economic, religious, military, and scientific reasons.)

3. Why we need to know the commonly-held racial views of the 1890’s to understand imperialism.

Discussion: In class, you should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions, drawn from the primary sources in the McSeveney reader:

1. Why did Sen. Albert Beveridge want the United States to annex the Philippines?

2. How did he justify denying “consent of the governed,” that is, democracy, to Puerto Ricans and Filipinos?

3. How did Mark Twain use sarcasm to criticize American imperialism?

Photographic analysis: In class, you should be able to provide answers to the following questions based upon the images on pp. 112-123 of Wheeler and Becker:

Special instructions: To answer the questions below, adopt of the following points of views, as if you were attending the 1904 fair: male factory worker (white or black); rich, white businessman; middle-class, white, married woman; American Indian, male or female; black female servant.

· From your chosen point of view, what sort of “messages” do the photographs send?

· From your chosen point of view, would you find American imperialism justified? Why or why not?